


Bambina

by melodys_muse



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:26:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26892895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodys_muse/pseuds/melodys_muse
Summary: Buffy and Angel experience the joys, and exhaustion, of parenthood. This is the 6th story in my “When in Rome” series, but you don’t have to read the others to enjoy this. (This is the one with the BANGEL BABY! I know some of you have been waiting for this for a long time…)
Relationships: Angel/Buffy Summers
Comments: 12
Kudos: 25
Collections: I Will Remember You





	Bambina

She was perfect. Ten little fingers. Ten tiny toes. Buffy thought she had Angel’s lips, but everything else was all her. The hair color wasn’t clear yet. It looked dark, but Buffy wouldn’t be surprised if it fell out and turned blonde. 

Buffy had known they were having a girl. Even before the ultrasound, she knew. She’d had a dream. Sometimes her whole life felt like a dream, and she had to remind herself that this was real. Angel was human now. They were together. And now, they were a family with this little one. 

Angel walked into the room and Buffy smiled at him. “I can’t stop looking at her. Our little bambina.” 

“I know the feeling,” Angel said. “Everyone else is eager to see her too. They’re outside waiting.” 

Buffy looked back at the sleeping baby in her arms. “They can wait. I don’t want to share her just yet. Besides, we still need to name her.” 

Angel sat down in the chair next to her. “I was thinking about that.” 

Her middle name had already been decided. Joyce, for Buffy’s mother. Her first name, they decided, should be an Italian name, in honor of Rome, the city they reunited in and had adopted as their new home. 

They had narrowed it down to three names they both liked, choosing to name her after she was born. Buffy wanted to wait until she saw her. She figured when she saw their daughter, she’d know her name just by looking at her. 

“Have you picked a name yet?” Buffy asked. 

“Yes. Have you?” 

“Yes. I hope it’s the same one I’ve picked, because I’ve been calling her that in my head all morning.” Buffy looked down again at the sleeping baby in her arms. Her lips were puckered as if she was trying to suckle in her dreams. 

Angel moved his chair closer so that he could see the baby better. “Honestly, any of those names would be perfect for her. I’m okay with whatever name you want.” 

“Well, I was thinking she looks like a Liliana.” 

A slow smile spread across Angel’s face. “That’s the name I picked too.” 

Buffy smiled back. “Really?” 

Angel nodded and reached out to hold his daughter’s tiny hand. “Then Liliana it is.” 

“Hi, Liliana,” Buffy whispered to the baby. “Welcome to the world.” 

The baby continued to sleep. 

Buffy looked up at Angel. “She’s so beautiful, Angel. Can you believe she came from us?” 

“I can believe it. She looks just like her mother.” 

She kissed her daughter on her forehead, then looked up at Angel. “Okay, you can go get them now. I’m ready.” 

xoxo 

Just about everyone came to see the baby the following weeks after. Dawn and Willow stayed for a while. Giles and Andrew came next. Xander flew in. All the slayers Buffy trained popped in daily. Connor even came for a visit, which made Angel’s heart soar with happiness. Connor tended to keep his distance, much to Angel’s disappointment, but it made him happy to have him come see his baby sister. 

Everyone who visited was happy to help out with the baby, as well as all the chores that went along with a newborn. But it was when the company left that the reality hit: they were the parents of a newborn, and this job was hard. 

There were endless loads of laundry to do. They went through countless diaper changes in one day. The housework started to pile up because Buffy had neither the time or the energy to do something about it. She started calling herself a cow because she felt like all she ever did lately was nurse the baby. 

“Don’t call yourself that,” Angel said. 

“But it’s true. I’m like a lactating cow. Look, I’m leaking milk right now.” Buffy pointed to the wet spot on her shirt. 

At the end of the day, Buffy and Angel would collapse into bed, exhausted beyond belief. 

“I could just fall asleep right now,” Buffy said, closing her eyes. 

Angel was already asleep. 

xoxo 

Sometimes when the baby was sleeping, Buffy would sneak into her room and watch her. She was afraid she might stop breathing. That happened sometimes with babies, right? 

One time, she got up in the middle of the night to check on her, worried because she hadn’t heard a peep out of her, which was unusual. She was fine of course. Buffy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the baby twitch in her sleep. She was alive, thank god. 

She felt Angel behind her, and she turned to him and smiled. He was probably wondering why she was out of bed. 

“I just wanted to make sure she was still breathing. Is that crazy?” 

Angel smiled. “No, not crazy at all. I came to check on her too.” 

So together they stood over Liliana’s crib, watching her sleep. Buffy then yawned, and Angel suggested they go back to bed. 

xoxo 

It never failed. As soon as Buffy would drift off into a peaceful slumber, the baby would wake up crying. 

She felt so tired, like a zombie, but she would get up anyway. 

“I’ll get her,” Angel said. “You go back to sleep.” 

“But she’s probably hungry. I need to nurse her.” 

“I’ll give her a bottle. Did you pump some earlier?” 

Buffy thought about it. Had she? “I think so. I don’t remember.” 

“Don’t worry. If you didn’t, I’ll just give her formula. Go back to sleep. You need the rest. I’ve got her.” 

Angel kissed her, and Buffy placed her head back on the pillow. “Thanks, honey.” 

She fell right back to sleep. 

xoxo 

In the morning, Angel wasn’t in bed. He usually woke up before she did anyway. Most mornings, he would make her breakfast. But when she went looking for him, he wasn’t in the kitchen. 

She found him in the baby’s room. There in the rocking chair, Angel was fast asleep with Liliana sleeping on his chest. Buffy left the room and grabbed her phone from the bedroom. She had to take a picture, and she snapped it just moments before Angel awoke. 

Angel smiled at her. “Good morning.” 

“Good morning. Did you sleep here all night?” 

“Yeah, I think so.” 

“Go back to bed, honey. I’ve got her now.” 

Buffy took the baby into her arms. Angel stood up and rolled his neck around to get the kinks out. He then kissed her on the cheek and went straight back to bed. 

xoxo 

A lot of times, Buffy missed her mom. It always hit her when she least expected it. Like when she first clipped Liliana’s fingernails and wasn’t sure if she was doing it right. Was she hurting her? Were they too short? If her mom were here, she’d just ask her. Maybe she’d even have her mom show her how to do it properly. But instead, she had to ask Google. 

There were other times she desperately wished for her mother’s advice. How did she get the baby to stop crying in the middle of the night? Was she colicky? What did that even mean? 

How many times did she have to breastfeed her every day? Was she doing it right? And how long should she do it? Six months? A year? What about when she grew teeth? 

And what was that cradle cap thing and what was she supposed to do about that? Because Buffy wasn’t sure, but she was thinking Liliana had that. Maybe she should have her doctor friend look at it. 

Sometimes the questions overwhelmed her, and before she knew it, the tears were falling. 

Buffy looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms. She was grateful Liliana was sleeping. She didn’t wish for her daughter to see her like this. 

The nursery door cracked open and a sliver of yellow light came through. Angel peeked inside. 

“Is she sleeping?” he whispered. 

Buffy nodded. 

Somehow though, Angel must have sensed she was upset, for the next thing she knew, he was sitting on the ottoman next to her and touching her tear-stained cheek. “Hey, what’s wrong?” 

“I’m just missing my mom right now. I have so many questions I want to ask her. Things she would know. If she were here, I would just pick up the phone and ask her. Or she’d be here to help me. But she’s not here, and I have to figure this out all on my own.” 

Fresh tears sprang from her eyes. Angel reached for a tissue and handed it to her. She wiped her eyes. 

“You don’t have to figure this out on your own, Buffy. I’m here. But I know...it’s not the same as having your mom here.” 

“Carmen came over earlier and helped me sterilize some bottles. And I kept thinking that it should be my mom helping me with that. I just want to be a good mom, and I don’t know if I’m doing it right.” 

“I think that’s a fear every new parent has, but I think you’re doing just fine.” 

Buffy looked up at Angel. “Is that how you felt with Connor?” 

Angel nodded. “Of course, and that’s how I feel about Liliana too. I don’t always know what I’m doing, but we’ll figure it out, Buffy. We’ll figure it out together.” 

A smile came to Buffy’s face. She looked back down at the baby. 

“I wish my mom could see her. There’s something about her. I can’t put my finger on what it is, but I see some of my mom in her too. Maybe the shape of her face.” 

“You know what I think?” 

Buffy looked up. “What?” 

“I think your mother has seen her. I feel like she’s here right now with us.” 

Buffy smiled. “You believe in stuff like that?” 

“We live in a world filled with a lot of supernatural things. Is it so hard to believe in the spirit world too? Don’t you feel her presence with us?” 

Buffy was quiet for a moment, then a smile came to her face. “Yes. I think I do.” 

The baby opened her eyes and whimpered. Buffy opened her robe, and moments later, the baby latched on to her breast. The baby was content again. 

“See, look at that,” Angel said. “You’re a natural. You knew just what she needed.” 

“It was just a lucky guess,” Buffy admitted. 

Angel reached for her hand. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll figure this parent thing out. We’ve handled tougher things before.” 

Buffy believed him. 

xoxo 

Angel woke up and smiled at the sight before him. Buffy was lying on her side with the baby between them, who was happily nursing at the moment. 

When Buffy saw that Angel was awake, she smiled back. 

“I know we were going to try the crib for a while, but I couldn’t resist bringing her into bed with us,” Buffy said. 

“No complaints from me. That was a silly idea anyway.” He reached out and touched the soft fuzz on Liliana’s head. “I love waking up with my two favorite girls.” 

“I was so tired last night, and she was so hungry. I just brought her into bed with me. She nursed and fell asleep, then I fell asleep. Then when I woke up again, she had found her way back to my boob like a nursing kitten. All by herself.” 

Angel laughed softly. “She knows what to do. She can probably smell your milk.” 

Buffy looked at Angel. “I told you I was a cow.” 

Angel reached out to caress Buffy’s cheek. “You’re not a cow. You’re a mother. And mothers nurse their babies. And you look beautiful doing it.” 

Buffy grinned at him. “You just like how my boobs are ginormous now.” 

Angel grinned back at her. “Well, that too. Is it wrong that I’m a little jealous of her right now?” 

Buffy laughed and lightly pushed him back. “You’re terrible.” 

Angel laughed. “Well Liliana is getting her breakfast. How about I whip up something for you, Mommy?” 

“Breakfast sounds good.” 

Angel leaned forward and kissed Buffy, then Liliana. And even though he fully intended on getting up, he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from his little girl. 

“We sure made a beautiful baby together,” Angel said. 

Buffy smiled at him. “Yes, we sure did.”

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Thanks for reading. :-) If you've enjoyed this story, I'd love to hear what you think of it. I have two more stories I'll be posting this month, so stay tuned!  
> 


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